The present invention relates generally to a computational computer model of a joint. In particular, the present invention relates to a computer model of a patient specific joint for treatment planning and a method of developing a treatment plan and treating a joint of a patient.
There is wide population variability in the morphology and material properties of bones, articulating surfaces and ligaments of a joint. For example, in a knee joint, lateral tibial slope ranges up to 12° and varies by 50% as well as variations in femoral notch and medial compartment depth. Similarly, material properties of the anterior cruciate ligament (“ACL”) can vary by up to 77%. Consequently, there are large variations in passive knee stability.
Accounting for this variability in a joint is an important consideration for planning surgical treatments, e.g. ACL reconstruction in a knee, and total or unicondylar knee arthroplasty (UKA). In ACL reconstruction, surgeons strive to restore knee function including knee kinematics and forces in the graft and surrounding tissues by choosing the most appropriate surgical parameters, such as graft size, type, and tunnel location for each patient. Not only must the surgeon contend with high patient-to-patient variations described above, they must also consider the status of surrounding soft tissues that may have been injured.
The failure to individually customize surgical parameters based on the unique structural and morphological profile of each patient also plays a role in suboptimal outcomes following e.g., ACL reconstruction. Such issues may result in the reported 5% failure rate of knee joint anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions, inability to return to sports, and long-term prognosis for joint degeneration.